Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses? Really? Is that the best that the three credited screenwriters could come up with? Lame title notwithstanding, this messy but forthright comedy is actually unexpectedly funny. The horrible bosses are stereotypes so crude that they make the three-word summaries that flash up in gigantic letters seem positively nuanced. But the three actors gifted with the roles throw themselves into the performances with scenery-chewing relish.

Kevin Spacey plays Harken, a gimlet-eyed sadist with a talent for devious mind games and spite as toxic as his venomous yellow tie. Biting his lip and swallowing the abuse is Nick (Jason Bateman), tempted by the promise of a promotion and his own office somewhere in the near future. Jennifer Aniston is a sexually-aggressive dentist who delights in…